By Liz
One of the best parts of Whole Foods is the $4 bags of avocados. The caveat is that they all ripen at the exact same time. I found
myself today with two avocados perilously close to overripe, which is just
plain unacceptable.
Shravan’s friend Eric, a fashion photographer who is
chronicling everything he eats for a year, mentioned recently that he had
photographed Marcus Samuelsson for the NYT, and found him both engaging and
interesting. I was inspired to flip again through Sameulsson’s African cookbook,
“The Soul of a New Cuisine,” for a suitable avocado recipe.
I found a promising soup with grilled tilapia, a kitchen
staple in the Vidyarthi household (as anyone who has come back to 349 Union for
late-night food can attest… Randy). Why have I never fried avocados with lime
and spices before? Genius!
Anything with that much chili and spice HAD to be
good. This proved true enough, though I fell victim to my own enthusiasm and
way overdid it on the chilies (in true Shravan fashion). I also cooked the soup
longer to intensify the flavors until it essentially became a tangy, spicy
salsa, which balanced beautifully with the mellow tilapia and creamy avocado.
I’ve reprinted the recipe below as it appears in the
cookbook, for people to tweak their own flavors. Personally, I upped the
cilantro and avocado, and sprinkled fried corn tortilla strips over the top to
add some crunch.
Grilled Tilapia-Avocado Soup
1/4 cup plus 2 T. olive oil
1 T. chopped cilantro
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 t. Green Curry Paste (below)
Four 4-ounce Tilapia fillets
3 ripe but still firm avocados, pitted, peeled and quartered
4 Scotch bonnet chili peppers, seeds removed, finely chopped
2 medium red onions, chopped
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups white wine
2 cups chopped canned tomatoes (or 4 fresh)
1 t. salt
1 cup cooked black beans, rinsed if canned
Combine 2 T. of the olive oil, juice of one lime, 2 t.
chopped cilantro, 2 garlic cloves, and 1 t. of the curry paste in a blender and
puree. Brush the puree over the tilapia and avocados.
Heat 2 T. olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high
heat. Add the sliced garlic, chilies, onions and sautee until translucent,
about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock and white wine, and simmer for 10
minutes. Add the tomatoes, the remaining lime juice and cilantro, salt, black
beans, and simmer gently for another 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in another two small
nonstick sautee pans over high heat. In one, add the avocados and cook, turning
once, about 3 minutes per side. In the other, cook the tilapia until just
opaque, about 6 minutes. Cut both tilapia and avocado into one-inch piees.
To serve, divide tilapia and avocado among shallow soup
bowls and pour in soup. Serves 2-4.
Green Curry Paste
10 birds eye chilis or 6 habanero chilies, seeds and ribs removed, finely chopped
2 lemongrass stalks, tender inner part only, finely chopped
Finely grated zest of 2 limes
1 large red onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 t. ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom, preferably fresh ground
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3 in. ginger, peeled and grated
2 T. peanut oil
2 t. salt
Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and puree to
a chunky paste. Store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up
to 1 week.
Recent Comments